Firing apparatus.



No. 643,6l8. v Patented Feb; 20, I900.

E. B. BABBITTL FIRING APPARATUS.

(Application filed July 19, 1899.)

(No'ModeL) 2 Sheets-Sheet FFI (1E5 EDWIN B. BABBITT, THE UNITED STATES ARMY.

FIRING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 648,618, dated February 20,

Application filed July 19, 1899, Serial No. 724,368. (N modelernors Island New York Harbor, New York,)

have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Firing Apparatus, of which the following is a specification, reference be-' ing made to the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is a side elevation of the breech of ,a gun and of its carriage provided with my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan thereof. Fig. 3

is a side elevation of'the magneto. Fig. etis a side view of the same with the cover removed. Fig. 5 is a plan of the magneto, and

- Fig. 6 is a detail of the same. 7

In the firing of guns electrically it has heretofore been customary to insert-a primer in 'ing the batteries when in action.

the gun or in the cartridge and ignite the same by a current derived from a dry or other battery. This method-is open to the obfiection of-being unreliable by reason of the deterioration of the batteries under the wide variety of climatic conditions encountered in actual service and the impossibility of replacthe. difficulty just mentioned, I employ for igniting the primer a magneto-electric machine, such as is ordinarily employed for firing charges in blasting operations This machine I attach to the gun-carriage or other suitable point and provide for the operation of the machine bythe discharge movement of the gun, by which term I include both the recoil and the counter-recoil of the gun when it is fired. This movement is first utilized to compress a spring, which is then latched in a compressed condition ready to be unlatched by a pull of the lanyard, whereupon it will expand and in so doing operate the magneto .to send a current into the primer and so discharge the gun. I have, furthermore, in-

vented certain details'of construction which are of value in connection with the apparatus of the general character I have described.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, A-represents the breech of a 'gun,which is mounted in anydesired manner and provided with any'desired form of carriage which will permit the gun to move backward under the recoil-pressure of the discharge and then return to its normal position ready for another To avoid shot. At any convenient point of the structure I attach a magneto-machine B. In the example shown for illustration it is placed on the gun-carriage G, where it may be operated by a pawl D, attached to the top carriage and moving with the gun; but it is evident that the parts may be reversed, the magneto being placed upon the gun on top carriage and the pawl upon the carriage, although the ar' rangement shown is the-one I prefer. The essential requirement is that the movement of the gun with relation to its carriage shall'be utilized for the operation of .the magneto, serving, preferably,to compress its operatingspring, which result may be attained by a variety-ofmechanieal arrangements. On the shaft E of the magneto is a lever-arm F, to which at one end is pivoted a rod G, carrying at its opposite end a piston engaging with the inner end of operating-spring H, which is contained in a tube or other'suitable guide, so.

that it may be compressed between the piston and the outer end of the tube. The op- H compressed, ready to work the magneto when released. The pawl I) on the recoil of the gun is free to slide back over the pin J without operating the arm F; but it is evident that the arrangement may be simplyreon the recoil \instead of the counter-recoil.

posite end of lever F is provided with a pin The arrangement shown is the one I prefer in most cases, since it tends to insure that the On the rear end of latch K is a minor spring 9- versed and the gun made to throw the lever 1 latch or stop K, engaged by a toe or lug on the trigger or firing-leverL, which is operated by the lanyard M, as shown in Fig. 5, wherein the parts are represented in condition for firing. Under these conditions it is evident that a pull on the lanyard M will turn the trigger L and by its engagement with latch K draw back the latch K and release the arm F, when the operating-spring II will rotate the armature of the dynamo and send a firing-current into the gun.-

The minor latch K is provided for the purpose of insuring that the latch K is returned to its locking position for engagement with the arm F independently of the trigger L, whereas if the lanyard were attached directly to latch K it might happen that in a moment of excitement the gunner would maintain his pull 011 the lanyard and so prevent the reengagement of arm F with the latch K. By the arrangement shown the pull of the lanyard not onlyreleases the spring H, but also disengages the trigger from latch K, and the latter automatically returns to its locking position.

As appears in Figs. l and 6, the shaft E of the magneto is hollow and surrounds the driving-snaft E, on which is the gear-wheel P, which drives the armature through intermediate multiplying-gears. On the hollow shaft E is the ratchet-wheel P, which engages with the pawl O on wheel P, so as to drive the wheel I in one direction, but not in the other. There is also on the shaft E a half-disk R, upon which bears a spring S, connected to the outgoing wire T and serving during the first part of the run of the machine to short-circuit the armature upon the field-magnet to intensify the field until the spring S leaves the half-disk R, and thereby, opening the short circuit, sends the current into the outgoing line with a sudden strong impulse, this being the customary expedient in magneto-generators used for this purpose. As appears in Fig. 1, the metal of the gun and carriage forms a part of the connecting-circuit, and only one wire T is led to the primer in the breech of the gun, the other terminal being connected to the gun-carriage. In practice the inclosing casing of the magneto will be of metal in intimate contact with the metal of the gun, so that but one binding-post and one electrical connection therefrom to the breech of the gun will be required.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The combination with a gun, of a magneto-generator for discharging the same, and

a mechanical connection between the gun and the generator for operating the latter by the discharge movement of the gun.

2. The combination with a gun-carriage, and a gun movable thereon, of a magnetogenerator for firing the gun, and a driving mechanism for the generator operated by the movement of the gun with relation to the carriage.

3. The combination with a gun, of a magneto-generator for firing the same, an operating-spring for the generator, and mechanism for putting the-spring under tension by the discharge movement of the gun.

4. The combination with a gun, of a magneto-generator for firing the same, an operating-spring for the generator, a latch for holding the spring under tension, and'a mechanical connection for setting the spring by the discharge movement of the gun.

5. The combination with a gun, of a magneto-generator for firing the same, an operating-spring for the generator, and a mechanical connection for putting the spring under tension by the counter-recoil movement of the gun.

6. The combination with a gun, of a magneto-generator for firing the same, electrical connections between the gun and the generator, power-storing mechanism for driving the generator operated by the discharge movement of the gun, a latch for holding said mechanism when set, and a releasing-trigger for said latch under the control of the operator.

T. The combination with a gun-carriage, of a gun movable thereon, a magneto-generator mounted upon one of the said elements, and an operating connection for the generator engaging with the other element, whereby the generator may be operated by the movement of the gun with relation to the carriage.

8. The combination with a'gun, of a magneto-generator for firing the same, electrical connections between the generator and the gun, an operating-spring for the generator set by the movement of the gun on its carriage, a latch for holding the said mechanism when set, and a trigger having a latch engagement with the releasing-latch and placed under the control of the operator.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand, this 15th day of July, 1899, before two subscribing witnesses.

EDWIN l3. BABBITT.

Witnesses:

Mo. 0. W. BROOKS, CHAS. P. RICE. 

